By Brady Kellogg

Hazel Lazar, a recent graduate from Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, was been named a statewide Positive Athlete Colorado award winner for her leadership in mountain biking and her work expanding access to the sport for younger girls.

Hazel carried a 4.00 GPA and will attend the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business as part of the Honors and Scholars Program this fall. She is a nationally competitive mountain bike racer, a climber who takes on trad and alpine routes, and a backcountry skier who spends every winter day she can in the mountains. She also plays guitar and sings in her school band.

What sets Hazel apart is what she did with what she noticed. As a freshman racing her first high school mountain bike event, she saw that boys outnumbered girls by more than two to one. When she began training with Pinnacle, a local development team, she was the only girl on the roster. At the middle school level, she found a gap too: the camps available required a full week of commitment, a barrier that kept many girls from ever trying the sport.

Hazel Lazar

Hazel decided to close that gap herself. She applied for and received a 5Point Dream Project grant, one of three awarded in the Roaring Fork Valley, and used the $2,000 to launch Girls on Bikes. The program gives middle school girls a free, low-pressure introduction to mountain biking, built around skills, confidence, and friendship rather than speed or competition. In its first summer, Hazel ran four two-hour sessions and brought more than 55 girls into the sport. She recruited coaches, organized rides, and built a space where beginners could show up without intimidation.

Her community involvement extends well beyond cycling. She has led campus tours for prospective families for four years, set climbing routes at her local gym, volunteered at plant sales and a film festival, and coached junior mountain bikers. She has also worked as a barista at a local coffee shop.

Her results on the bike back up that reputation. Robert Donovan of Donovan Racing, Hazel’s coach, said her impact on the team was immediate: “She added a level of professionalism and hard work that our team always strives to achieve. She showed incredibly consistent results in arguably the most competitive UCI category.”

In her nomination, Hazel’s mother, Michelle Lazar, described a daughter who cares as much about lifting others up as she does about winning. That combination, competing hard while building something lasting for the athletes coming up behind her, is exactly what the Positive Athlete award recognizes.

Hazel’s story reflects the values at the center of both organizations behind her sport. The Colorado High School Cycling League builds its program around Ride, Connect, and Empower, and Hazel has lived out all three: racing at a nationally competitive level, connecting with teammates and coaches at Pinnacle and Donovan Racing, and empowering the next generation of girls through Girls on Bikes. Positive Athlete’s own themes of Recognize, Empower, and Connect point to the same idea. Recognizing athletes like Hazel means highlighting not just performance but the way she has empowered younger riders and connected an entire community of middle school girls to a sport that once felt out of reach for them.

In Hazel’s Own Words

Reflecting back on the Positive Athlete nomination and awards selection process, Hazel spoke to the importance of character in athletics: “Results capture what an athlete accomplished, but character reveals how they accomplished it. Qualities like resilience, integrity, sportsmanship, humility, and passion are what inspire others, create a sense of community, and foster a lifelong love of sport. Especially for young athletes, recognizing these qualities reinforces that while success is rewarding, the values they develop and the relationships they build are what matter most. Long after the races have finish and results are forgotten, character is what leaves a lasting impact.”

In Hazel’s perspective, winning an award as a cyclist, climber and skier “showed that sports don’t need to be mainstream to have value, and that the impact athletes make extends far beyond the sport they compete in.”

Hazel encourages coaches and parents to nominate additional cyclists as Positive Athletes during the 2026-27 school year and beyond: “Recognizing a Positive Athlete is a meaningful way to acknowledge the impact they have on others, whether they realize it or not. It celebrates the values they bring to sport and encourages them to continue leading by example. Their recognition can also inspire other athletes to strive for the same positive influence, creating a stronger, more supportive sporting community.”

Congratulations to Hazel Lazar on being named a 2026 Positive Athlete Colorado award winner.

Know a cyclist grades 9-12 who leads like Hazel does? Nominate them, or high-character high school athletes from any other sport, for a Positive Athlete award.

Brady Kellogg joined Positive Athlete to create meaningful opportunities for student-athletes, combining his sports industry expertise with a personal passion for youth development. Having seen firsthand how sports shape lives, Brady is driven to support the high school space—where leadership, character, and long-term values take root. He and his wife Cindy live in Louisville, CO.